1995

The Mitnick Takedown

Serial cybertrespasser Kevin Mitnick is captured by federal agents and charged with stealing 20,000 credit card numbers. He's kept in prison for four years without a trial and becomes a cause célèbre in the hacking underground.
After pleading guilty to seven charges at his trial in March 1999, he's eventually sentenced to little more than time he had already served while he wait for a trial.
Russian crackers siphon $10 million from Citibank and transfer the money to bank accounts around the world. Vladimir Levin, the 30-year-old ringleader, uses his work laptop after hours to transfer the funds to accounts in Finland and Israel.
Levin stands trial in the United States and is sentenced to three years in prison. Authorities recover all but $400,000 of the stolen money.